Kevin Sumlin is in his third season leading the Aggies in the SEC and they will see how it feels without Johnny Manziel at the helm for the first time in the toughest conference in college football. Take a look at the games on the 2014 slate. less

Kevin Sumlin is in his third season leading the Aggies in the SEC and they will see how it feels without Johnny Manziel at the helm for the first time in the toughest conference in college football. Take a ... more

Photo: Cody Duty / Houston Chronicle

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<strong><center>Thursday, August 28: at South Carolina*</strong></center><h3></h3>
<center>*Southeastern Conference game

<strong><center>Thursday, August 28: at South Carolina*</strong></center><h3></h3>
<center>*Southeastern Conference game

DirecTV and Suddenlink signed on Monday to carry the SEC Network when the ESPN-programmed channel launches Aug. 14, boosting the network’s initial audience to 87 million households.

The Suddenlink announcement, which affects customers in the Kingwood area and other parts of Houston and in Bryan-College Station and other markets around the state, was part of a larger agreement between the St. Louis-based company and Disney that includes, among other channels and services, ESPN’s University of Texas-themed Longhorn Network and the Watch ESPN app.

SEC Network, which will be available at launch, and Longhorn Network, which will be available beginning with the beginning of college football season, will air on Suddenlink’s expanded basic service.

The DirecTV agreement for SEC Network was a standalone announcement and did not address Longhorn Network or Watch ESPN. SEC Network will air on DirecTV’s Choice service and on higher packages in SEC states, including Texas.

“This was a deal specific to SEC Network,” an ESPN spokeswoman said. “We are committed to Longhorn Network distribution, which has nationwide availability through other providers including Dish, and continue to conduct ongoing conversations with Comcast and other distributors for carriage of Longhorn Network.”

Texas A&M at South Carolina on Aug. 28 is the first of at least 45 SEC football games this fall on the new network.